Wednesday, July 16, 2008

David Locke [1320 KFan] talked with Morris Almond last evening. You can check out the interview here, it starts 32 mins into the 'podcast'. This is just my opinion, but . . . I think that Mobe is very calculating. Sure, he does say 'uhh' before he answers a question -- but probably in order to give him time to think, and not because he is nervous. One only has to go back to his diplomatic pre-draft interviews with local Phoenix media and his glowing responses, of how playing for the Suns would be a dream come true, etc to see this in action. He's a smart guy, and knows what to say to the media. This is not a bad thing, per se; and I am truly in Morris Almond camp. (Regardless of how many of my posts so far are about C.J. Miles) That said, when he talks with Locke you can tell that he is both ingenious, but also genuine. He's also a pretty good player. Last season I would watch some Utah Flash games last season and admire his game, and say out loud that "Man . . . this guy would just *kill* if he was playing with star quality NBA talent".

Last season was basically his 5th season at Rice -- and he had to do it all. If he ever gets to play with our core he would be great running off of that Harpring curl for the open jumper 15 ft. out, and so forth. That defense issue . . . that's something else.

The Podcast is informative in that Mr. Locke asks Almond what he was asked to improve on. Almond freely admits that he must improve the consistency of his play, speaking particularly about intensity on "both ends of the floor," (Almond, via Locke, 2008). Morris also makes reference towards getting that "dog in him", and to "punk or be punked". He wants to be a killer out there. I can see Morris being that type of guy, you know the type, the opposite of Ceejay. What's wrong with Miles? He's just as likely to be laughing and clapping on the bench as he is during the actual games when he is on the floor.

Photo credit Getty Images/NBAE

Almond, on the other hand, appears to be the kind of guy who will approach this as a job. He sounds intelligent, and is older than the other young guards on the roster. This should serve him well down the line -- he appears to have that maturity in his game that develops from his many years of playing ball.

Locke also asks Mobe about the whole Fess/Maturity issue, and what's happening between Fesenko and Koufos in their practices against each other. The podcast also reveals that that Ronnie Price is getting married next week. So, congrats Ronnie! I enjoy these podcasts, and always love hearing about the Jazz off the court.